Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Sept 7: Infuriated by the neglect of Jammu under Central Government’s Pan-India mega ‘Smart Cities’ project, Panthers Party activists staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar , here today.
Spearheaded by JKNPP chairman Harshdev Singh, State president Balwant Singh Mankotia and State president Young Panthers, Yashpal Kundal, the protesters raised slogans against BJP-PDP alliance in J&K. The agitating Panthers marched towards Parliament House where they were stopped by Delhi Police near Parliament Street Police Station and restrained from proceeding further.
Terming the shocker as sinister and bizarre, Harshdev Singh recalled that earlier on the initiative of the Central Government, Governor N N Vohra had proposed and identified four cities vis-à-vis Jammu, Srinagar, Katra and Anantnag for the development of Smart Cities. He said that despite of Central Government giving nod for developing the aforesaid locations into Smart Cities in the month of April this year, Dr Nirmal Singh who holds the charge of the Urban Development Ministry in the Government of J&K, had grossly failed to persuade the Union Minister for Urban Development Venkaiah Naidu in New Delhi to approve their construction in J&K on the rationale that the State has distinct 6 month rotational capitals for which Jammu and Srinagar need to be developed as Smart Cities while Katra and Anantnag deserve the same for attracting lakhs of pilgrims every year.
Harshdev Singh expressed his surprise over UP and Tamil Nadu walking away with maximum share of 12, Maharashtra 10, Madhya Pradesh 7, Gujarat 6, Lakshadweep 1 and so on with Jammu & Kashmir figuring nowhere in the list. What so special Kavaratti city in Lakshadweep with a meager population of 11,210 souls had in it to be developed as Smart City, whereas the entire J&K with a population of 1.30 crores has been deprived? he asked.
Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yashpal Kundal also addressed the protesting Panthers.
The protest was joined by Gagan Pratap Singh, Raghubir Singh, Sukhjit Singh, Arun Khajuria, Sham Gorkha, Rajeshwar Singh, Udhay Bhanu Singh, Nirmal Kishore, S Paramjit Singh, Marshal, S Randhir Singh, Darshan Paroch, Surjit Singh Guleria, Balwinder Khosla, Neeraj Gupta, Surjit Singh Sambyal, Romesh Khajuria, A J Rajan and others.
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